That Blonde Brat
by FleetingArtUn
Summary: Sasori reflects on his and Deidara's partnership. Not Sasodei, just friendship. First fic! Criticism is appreciated!


**That Crazy Blonde Brat**

Blonde.

Crazy.

Shinobi.

Artist.

Bomber.

Those words described him; oh, most definitely they did!

But the only word that would ever be his perfect adjective was….

Deidara.

Blonde.

He was most certainly blonde. In description, at least. He was by no means dumb. The kid knew how to live, how to fight, and how to win. He knew how to get what he wanted, who not to bug, and he was extremely adaptable. Heck, the boy made an Anti-Sharingan, for goodness' sake!

Crazy.

And, yes, he was very crazy. He believed that bombs were art. That blowing up his victims would allow them to become art. Now tell me, is that sanity? Nope, didn't think so…. But, I can't judge him, no one in the Akatsuki was sane, not in the least! I think we are probably the most insane group in all of the shinobi nations.

Shinobi.

I truly think he was the epitome of a shinobi. He never backed down, even when he was outnumbered or severely under-armed. Some people call that idiocy, but I don't. Not now, at least.

Artist.

Yes, that brat was an artist. I have come to believe that not all arts agree. Not all artists agree. But, one thing that all arts and artists have in common is this: All artists have a passion and a reason for fighting, and that is their art. He called it fleeting. Who am I to judge him? Even in the long run, I was fleeting!

Bomber.

The boy was a bomber. Kamikaze. Suicidal. He never feared death, he embraced it. He never doubted that he would die young, even though some wished he would live longer. Still, I believe he fulfilled his purpose.

Deidara.

I wish he would have lived longer, or made different decisions. I wish he wouldn't have thrown his life away for that messed up art of his. I wish he would have been eternal.

But wishing those things has made me a hypocrite.

I am Akasuna no Sasori, the Scorpion of the Red Sands. I was feared in Suna and I was in the higher ranks of the Akatsuki.

I was that brat's first partner in the Akatsuki. He was my second partner, after the Snake-Sannin, Orochimaru.

I honestly wish that Deidara would have been my first partner. I cannot say that I wasn't bitter before Orochimaru, but saying that he didn't make me more bitter would be a flat-out lie. I feel sorry for Deidara. He had to deal with me as a partner. I was dominant, demanding, and I had a short temper. On more occasions than I can count, I stabbed the brat in one of our art arguments. I nearly killed him at least five of those times.

But he would always stand up.

Then laugh.

He would laugh as if me almost killing him was actually funny. That kid didn't care as much about his life as I cared about his art. Tch, the boy was insane.

And, yet…. I feel bad about treating him the way I did. I never helped him with anything, unless it was for the mission or very vital. I never tried to understand his human emotions. I could still feel numbed versions of his feelings, but I tried to ignore them.

My resistance was futile in the long run, however.

* * *

What can I say? Deidara had spunk. He wasn't like the other Akatsuki. He didn't kill his whole clan, worship a crazy god, or look unhuman. He wasn't greedy, and I can assure you that nothing about him was like me. He was loud, abrupt, sudden. I was quiet, subtle, sneaky.

No matter how different we were, I can't deny the fact that the boy was a valuable asset to our group. He and I worked well together, even with our fights, and I began to see him as an acquaintance…. Or friend, even.

I was never one to display my emotions, but I was there for him. He had no trouble telling me that I was the only one in the whole Akatsuki that he frankly gave a crap about at all. The one time that I did demonstrate some care for the boy was the time we were sent to his home village, Iwagakure, on an assassination mission.

Now here is the part where I am supposed to tell you some horrible back story that he was picked on because of his hand-mouths, was abused by his family, or raped as a child in Iwa. But, I'm not, because of the simple fact that:

I. Don't. Know.

Now, you all don't get this wrong. The kid was open. He had no problem telling me almost everything about him in the first five seconds that we met. But his birth village was a "touchy" spot for him, I guess. I can relate with him, though, and that's why I consoled him somewhat when we were sent to Iwa. He wasn't shaking or crying, but he was silent, and Deidara being silent is like me being bubbly. It happens only when something is VERY wrong.

He got through it, and thanked me for being kind. I remember snorting at him and telling him that he was still a brat, and not to let it get to his head. He just laughed, as always.

Then, he was given the mission to retrieve his bijou, 1-tails, Sabuku no Gaara. AKA: Kazekage, leader of Sunagakure….

My home village.

I had always sworn never to go back, never to speak, or even to think of that horrible village ever again. But now my partner was assigned a mission to that very place.

Oh, how I despise karma.

He knew to not bug me about the place, and to silently comfort me as I did for him when we went to Iwa. He was quiet enough not to bug me, but not too silent as to perturb me. He understood what I was feeling- and yes, I used the word "feeling"- and was behaving quite well…. At least, for a brat, that is.

As much as I will always despise his art, and he will always be a subordinate to me, I can't help but to admit that he fought….. Magnificently…. Against that Sand brat. He was severely unequipped (and that was his own fault, I had even warned him!), but he actually used some sort of strategy to win the battle. He wasn't that bumbling idiot that had come into the Akatsuki. He had grown, and as I watched him fight, I admired his guts and quick thinking- not that I would EVER tell him that!

Then came the fight with Mini-Me. I found it amusing, to say the least. The shock in his eyes when I told him who I was, and the way he slowly went unconscious because of my poison, and his utter stupidity for thinking that he could EVER stand a chance against me.

Everything was normal for a few days. We sealed the 1-tails, and Deidara went back to being the annoying brat that I know. We were just about to relax when leader informed us that a group of shinobi were trying to infiltrate the hideout. They were there for the Kazekage, and we were here to defend the base.

So, I lazily stood up and went to the front room. Deidara followed, bringing the corpse with him. He was an instigator, and sat down on the body, just to irk the shinobi.

They came, and Deidara let his ego get the better of him. He knew that 9-tails was Itachi's jinchuuriki to catch, but anything to do with that Uchiha made my brat boil, and we told me he was going to get the 9-tails just to irk Itachi.

We split them. Two and two. I got my grandmother and some pink haired hag from Konoha. Deidara got the jinchuuriki and that Copy ninja.

To be honest with you, he got the harder of the pairs. Any jinchuuriki is a threat, no matter how young or old. And to top it off, he also had to deal with one of the most well-known and respected ninja in all of the lands, Hatake Kakashi. I just had to take care of and old hag, and a weak little kunoichi.

* * *

And yet, I was the one who died.

Like I said that I hate karma, I also hate irony.

* * *

I have no idea where I am now, but I can see the brat. I have watched him since I got here. I laughed when he got put in my shoes and had to deal with a hyperactive subordinate of his own. But something made me mad about that kid he was paired with.

He called Deidara "Senpai".

And Deidara let him.

Jealosy is a sin, but do I care? No.

In this place, I am human. I have full-blown emotions. I can feel the rage bubble up in me when Deidara tries to tell Tobi that art is fleeting. I can feel the jealousy when my brat finally gives in and tells Tobi that he is a "good boy". I can feel the sadness when Deidara lays awake at night, whispering to me, telling me that he wishes I was here, and both of us knowing that I can't answer.

No, I'm not infatuated with the brat, but I do care. This place made me realize how empty I am. Deidara was always there for me. But now I'm not there for him, and it makes me feel… guilty. I can see that Deidara can't stand Tobi, and it makes me mad that Tobi doesn't have the sense to back off.

But, there is nothing that I can do about it…..

* * *

Today I can see that the brat is heading off with Tobi on an ordinary assassination mission, just like the ones me and him used to go on. But, in the pit of my stomach, I know something is wrong.

And indeed it is.

My brat ran into an Uchiha.

He tried to fight said Uchiha.

Then my brat did what irks me the most.

He lost to that kid, and DIED.

He wasn't supposed to do that. I ended up fleeting, he was supposed to be eternal. What am I supposed to do if he doesn't come here? What if he gets sent to an empty place of his own? What happens if he sits in his place and watches his subordinate as I did mine? Would that be fair to me? No.

I sit in this empty place and watch that explosion of his. It is humongous. Bright. Destructive. Everything that my brat loves. I can tell that that runt he was fighting got away, but now he will remember Deidara as the force that almost took him down. Hopefully, it will give him an ego check.

* * *

I sit here, and think of all these things. My life, my death. His life, his death. I sit here, both bored and worried. That is, until I hear a memorable voice echo through the dark depths of my –our– empty space.

"Danna?! Is that really you, un?!"

And I smile.

~Owari~


End file.
